Over
by Grey's Princess
Summary: When all is over, you discover what you have lost- and what you have gained.


**Hello! I'm really in an FMA mood right now, so enjoy another Royai fic from me tonight! Some things you should probably know before you read this:**

**1) I am of the firm opinion that Ed, Al, and Mustang are not going to get their bodies back. Still haven't figured out what they're going to do about Al's soul rejection problem, though. Maybe he'll get his body back, and the others won't? Yeah, I'm special.**

**2) I view the Royai relationship in the following manner: Both Hawkeye and Mustang are completely and fully aware of their feelings, and each other's feelings, and have been for a very long time. However, in an effort to avoid hostage situations and the like, they are remaining at a safe distance. This opinion will be the one that dominates my Royai fanfics. (That doesn't mean I don't believe they can have slip-ups, though... XD)**

**That's... about it. I don't own FMA. Enjoy!**

It was over. Something in the air had changed, or the ground had settled just so, or _something_ had happened to signal that it was over, but whatever it was, everyone there could feel it. It was as if the entire room breathed a collective sigh of relief as the tension was drained from the area.

She remained tense and alert, though, because even though it was clearly over, the outcome was still murky. After things were _over_ was when the difficult things began, things like body counts and rearranging the government and finding out just how many people you cared about had been lost. And it was this last one that she dreaded the most, because there were people out there she didn't care to live without- one person in particular.

And then she heard footsteps, and turned around, and there he was walking between Edward and Alphonse. Both of them were unharmed but unchanged, and seeing them there, still carrying the burdens of their sins, reminded her of what he had been forced to do. A panicked glance confirmed that all of his limbs were still intact, and she allowed herself a short moment of relief before composing herself and stepping forward. It wouldn't be good for her face to betray her worry- to him or to anyone else.

"Colonel," she said, saluting him stiffly as he and the Elrics came to a stop in front of her. She continued to check for injuries, relaxing a bit when she found him healthy other than his apparent fatigue- his eyes were closed, and he was leaning on the Elrics for support.

"Lieutenant. Lieutenant Hawkeye?" His voice was tentative, unsure- unlike him.

"Yes, sir?"

"Are you all right? Your throat?"

She nodded. "It may take a while for my voice to go back to normal, though." It amazed her that even after all he'd been through, after being slated for use as a sacrifice and being forced into human alchemy, he could still find time to be worried about her health.

"If you'll be okay," Edward interrupted then, addressing both of them, "I have people to find myself, so Al and I will just leave you here."

"I'm not a cripple, Fullmetal," he snapped wearily at him. I can stand here just fine. Get out of here."

"If you're sure. Take care," the boy said, in a rare moment of sincerity. Whatever had happened to all of them had given him a new perspective, it seemed.

She watched them as they disappeared, then turned to speak to him. "Are you all right? What happened?"

"I'll be fine. Lieutenant, where are we?"

She frowned a little. "Under the command center. Don't you remember? We're in the room where you… Where they forced you to…" She couldn't bring herself to recall anymore of that than she absolutely had to, but surely he got the picture.

But then he said the three words that changed everything. "I… can't see."

That was it- three little words that shattered everything, three words that meant it was over. She couldn't have heard him right. She couldn't bear it if she had heard him right. "I don't understand."

He sighed. "To perform human transmutation and open the Doorway of Truth, a sacrifice of some sort is taken from you. In my case, my eyesight was taken. I'm completely blind." He opened his eyes then, and she saw what he meant- the dark, piercing gaze she had come to expect had turned milky, unfocused, unseeing.

She couldn't speak for a moment; her mind was reeling. Blind? He couldn't be! He was always so strong, so sure of himself. Always looking ahead, leading them all to wherever they needed to go. This could very well break him. "Colonel…"

"Don't bother," he told her dejectedly. "The army has no use for a worthless blind alchemist like me, and I'm wanted for treason besides. The best I can hope for is an honorable discharge. Depending on who becomes führer, it may be too much to hope for my life."

Führer. That should have been him. She was supposed to help drive him to the top, and she'd failed. "You _deserve_ a medal of honor, after all you've done for this country! Sir, I know I'm speaking out of line, but the new führer would have to be a fool to consider what you've done treason!" Her blood was boiling- if anyone deserved recognition for their work, it was this man, who had sacrificed so much for his people.

"Riza!" he snapped, and she stumbled backwards a step from the sheer shock of hearing her first name in his voice. Her name, which he had declared off limits for the sake of remaining distant and detached in front of those who would harm them. "Just… stop. Someone's surely taken the führer's place by now; they could be searching for us already. Don't let my last memory of you be all formalities. At least let me remember you as you."

He shouldn't be talking like that. She shouldn't have allowed him to talk like that. All this talk of death couldn't be good for him, or for her either, in her current state. But she couldn't honestly deny that he was right, and she was in almost as bad of a predicament as he was when it came to war crimes. She didn't want her last memory with him to be a display of insubordination from her, either.

"You're right. I'll stop now, si- Roy." His name felt strange in her mouth after all the years of "Sirs" and military ranks. The awful rasp in her voice from her injury didn't make things any better.

He smiled. "That's better. You're sure you're okay? Do you want to see a doctor?"

"Maybe eventually, but I'm fine, really. Mei Chan did a good job of closing the wound for me. Here, feel." She took his hand, ran his fingers along her neck where the knife had cut her. It stung a bit at his touch, but she could do nothing else to reassure him, so she held firm. "My voice will just be a little off for a while." She left unvoiced her major concern- _Assuming we aren't executed before this is all over._ "I'm sorry I let them try to use me against you like that. Even though you had no intention to follow through with it, I was still weak enough to allow them to use me, and then I was too weak to stop them from forcing your hand. And now you're like this." She gestured vaguely at his face, blushed when she realized he couldn't see it.

The look on his face was unreadable to her. He reached out blindly- hesitantly- and found, by some small miracle, her face, touched her cheek gently. "You think I had no intention of going along with what they wanted me to do," he said, not quite a question, not quite a statement. "I would have done it. I would have been on that floor doing exactly what they told me to in a heartbeat if you hadn't made it. I'm not as strong as you think I am. I-"

She couldn't stop herself before her hand came out and slapped him. a small part of her felt guilty for slapping him when he couldn't even see it coming, but he was just acting so stupid. "What were you thinking? _Why_ would you even think about doing something so stupid? Did you even think about the consequences? About what you had to lose?" He was such an idiot! She wasn't worth that kind of sacrifice, especially not from him.

"I would have rather lost my eyesight than lost _you!_" When had this turned into a yelling match, she wondered? They could be wasting precious time together, and they were yelling at each other? She would have regretted mentioning anything in the first place if it weren't for that fact that he needed to hear it. "There's not much I_ wouldn't_ trade for your safety. I thought you knew that!"

"It wouldn't have worked!" she replied. "_You _should have known _that._ Didn't you learn anything from the Elrics? Once somebody is dead, there's no bringing them back. Why would you sacrifice so much for a hopeless cause? What about now? If you knew you would lose your eyesight- your chance to become führer- would you still have thrown it all away?"

"Yes, I would have! I would have needed to know that I was doing something, Riza," he said, a little softer now. "If I had to watch you die and didn't _try_ to do anything, it would have killed me. You saw what losing Hughes did to me; can you imagine what I would have been like if I had lost you too? I-" He stopped, his next words caught in his throat, his milky eyes damp.

"That's not really appropriate, Sir," she reprimanded, gently reminding him that they were in public and there were other people around.

"I don't honestly care anymore, Riza," he shot back. "If the new führer doesn't have us shot for treason, I'll be out of the military anyway, so the fraternization laws don't really make a difference. Frankly, I'm sick of acting like you're nothing more than a subordinate to me. I am not going to die living a lie. They have taken my best friend and they have taken my eyesight; they are _not_ going to take you away from me too."

She wasn't sure how to respond to that. She wanted nothing more than to give in, but if it put him in more danger she'd never be able to forgive herself. "I…"

"Colonel Mustang, Lieutenant Hawkeye, have you heard?" an exuberant young officer whose name she probably should have remembered, but didn't, asked. "Major General Armstrong has taken power! Even Bradley's men are doing what she says!"

"See? That's a perfect example of not knowing what will happen. Although I'm betting court-martials are the most likely possibility…"

Keeping a straight face wasn't worth the effort- he would have been able to tell from her voice either way. "Roy…"

"Kiss me."

She _couldn't_ have heard him right this time. A little bit of flirting in public was one thing. Open displays of affection… That was something else entirely. "What?!"

He gave her "The Grin"- that cocky smile of his he often used to melt the hearts of women. "Riza, I have every intention of kissing you right here for everyone to see. However, I can't exactly find your mouth, and I'd rather not make a major fool of myself. So, save me the trouble and kiss me."

"That," she said, "is an order I'd be more than happy to obey," and kissed him.

**Reviews are much appreciated! Click that little button right there!**

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